Saturday, October 16, 2010

Dharma Bums

After Eustace Conway finishes speaking to a group of spellbound schoolchildren for several hours, Elizabeth Gilbert asks him why he thinks that the teens were so hypnotized by his presentation and personality. "Because," Eustace replies, "they recognized right away that I was a real person. And they've probably never met one before."

In Dharma Bums, Kerouac writes that "the little Saint Teresa bum was the first genuine Dharma Bum" he'd ever met.

Who is the most authentic, or most real, person you have met in your life? Why do you consider this person authentic or real? Explore what it means to be (or not to be) authentic. Try to think outside Brooks for this one...

9 comments:

The most real person that I have ever met outside of brooks is a retired Navy officer turned businessmen. This is a man who has seen just about everything that life has to offer. He grew up in a relatively poor family, worked hard and got accepted to the United States Naval Academy. After receiving his commission he was able to travel extensively through some of the most affluent as well as the most poverty stricken parts of our globe. He is one of the most well read and smartest people that i have ever met, but also one of the easiest to talk to. One would think that such a intellectual would have a tough time holding a conversation and making connections with anyone that isn't on the same academic level as he is but that isn't true, and it speaks to his character. He also has a level of understanding of reality that is matched only by few. It is a testament to his authenticity of a man that he can just as easily hold a conversation with a PhD as we can with someone that is working at the drive through. What you see is what you get with this man and that is what makes him authentic. He is a citizen and a family friend of the highest honor.

The most real and authentic person that I know would probably my spanish teacher from 7th and 8th grade. She has traveled all over the world and has lived in so many different places where she often partook in community service of some sort, and helped teach locals english. She is not only one of the most amazing and inspirational teachers I have ever had, but she is also extremely kind as well as extremely honest. She has lived in England, Cuba, Columbia, Venezuela, and she has traveled to almost every country in South America. She has experienced so much throughout her life, and she tries to teach her students the importance of traveling and experiencing new things. Her honesty, dedication, and hard work that she has exhibited throughout her entire life and career is what makes her an authentic person.

The most real person that I have met outside of Brooks is a man whom I got to know throughout my childhood in California. My family lived on a ranch with several other residents, and this man was the caretaker and responsible for the animals and the maintenance of the land. No matter what problem he was presented with, whatever object or structure was broken he had a way to fix it, and never showed any sense of doubting himself. I admired his every move as a young kid, and when I was lucky, he would pause his work to play a game with me; whether it be shooting hoops or kicking around the soccer ball. It was not until two years of knowing him that I was told he was an illegal immigrant who had worked hard to cross the border and make a living for himself. This act of courage was and still is incredibly inspiring to me. With a young daughter and wife, everyday he ran the risk of the authorities discovering his illegal presence; but he did not let this thought deter him from working incredibly hard day in and day out. He puts in his every effort into his work because he knows that he has to make the most out of his precious time above the border in order to make a better future for his daughter and family. I will forever respect and admire his confidence, work ethic and mindset that he can conquer anything put in front of anything. At the end of the day,this "maintenance" man taught me life values in a way that sitting in a classroom never could and I am so fortunate to have known him throughout my younger life.

When I traveled to Africa my summer after freshmen year, I met a school teacher, who had spent his entire life pursuing education. He loved to teach and had worked in so many different fields to pay for his education and to support his pursuit of a degree. He was the most authentic and real person I have ever met because he had a genuine interest in something, and he had worked so hard to get it. I think a person is authentic and real when they have a true passion for something and are driven to work for that accomplishment. I think that for someone to be real and authentic they have to have struggled and to have put in effort to reach there goal. This man, named Sule, had lived in one of the toughest places in the world and yet he had accomplished his goal. I remember realizing for the first time in my life, that real people have to work for something.

The most real and authentic person I have met in life is probably Tom Crawford, the medicine man of the Black Foot Indian tribe on a reservation in Montana. I was spending the summer out on the reservation doing community service with a group of about fifteen other teenagers. Tom was one of the most amazing people I have ever met. He was in love with nature and all of the natural resources we have at our fingertips. When someone would ask him a question, he would always have a well thought out, rational answer. He was one of the hardest working people I have ever met, and was clearly well known and respected on the reservation. In the extreme poverty that the people of the reservation live in, he was the most optimistic and happy man I met that summer.

It is hard to define exactly what traits a “real, authentic” person portrays. In my opinion, a real person is someone who stays true to his or her values. I also think, as Jack said in class, that a real person is someone who can connect well with others. In today’s society, interconnections between humans are crucial. Thus, my friend Jonathan is one of the most ‘real’ people I know. I was, at first, skeptical of whether or not choosing someone my age, a much less experienced and matured person, would be a bad idea. I then thought about Jonathan’s traits and realized that his real personality is more perceptible to me than anyone else.

The most real person I have ever met was my boss over the past three summers. During these three summers I have worked for an organization called the Food Project, a nonprofit organization which hires youth ages 15 to 18 from urban and suburban areas, and brings them together while teaching them about the local sustainable and industrial food systems while teaching them about agriculture. My boss is John Wang, a 29 year old born and raised in Michigan. He is, perhaps, the wisest person for his age that I have ever met and getting to know him over the past three summers has been incredible. A smart guy who was on the fast track for medical school coming out of Brandeis, John spent a summer with the Food Project and thought that the goals of the program (to bring locally grown, fresh produce to all) were so important that he has devoted the past 7 years of his life to support this cause full time. I could go on and on about how cool I think this guy is. He is hiking extensively as I write in the Grand Canyon, he has travelled all over the world helping to bring fresh produce to people from all walks of life. John is someone whom you would never meet at a Stop and Shop, but in at an outdoor farmers market, not in a fancy upscale restaurant but in a small Mexican grill chatting up the owner and all of the customers and this is the most profound part of John to me. He has never been content to sit back and accept the world the way it is now, but he will forever work tirelessly for others, and from where I'm sitting you can't get any more real than that.

My dad is the most authentic person I know in my life. I can't really say that about too many other people, mainly because I don't know anyone as well as I know him. He is hard-working and honest, and though he has not done anything incredible or indescribable in life he is still very interesting. As a child, he grew up in a roguh area in Boston, did not go to college, but still has made enough income to send me to an expensive school like this. He owns his own company now and it was not given, he earned his spot through shear hardwork. He respects all people and displays honest traits.

Without a doubt, my father is hands-down the most authentic person I have ever known. He has taught me with grace how to emulate his down-to-earth personality. And from what I have witnessed, his talent is what has made him into what he is today-a very successful businessman who works extremely well with others; a man who can befriend anyone, as well as a loving spouse and father. He can cut through any bullshit and simplify it from its previous superficial position. His logic is so rare and unique it frequently baffles but yet fascinates me. My father often stresses that friendships and relations with people is penultimate in leading a successful and happy life. I love talking with my father so I can further my knowledge and subsequently become a more "real" person.